Last week, I had a young man come over to discuss treatment for my lawn in the backyard. My yard has been devastated by the elements, insects, dogs and 7 beautiful grandchildren! Now to give you some perspective, this young man is a throwback, minus the long hair, to your classic 60's hippy. He was a delightful trip! As I walked him around my yard, pointing out all the weeds, lack of grass, he took notice of everything else I didn't see. He saw native wild violets. Where I wanted to destroy all the evil pesky insects, he saw gentle answers to my lawn scavengers. At one point, this gentle soul, literally stopped talking, reached into the garden to smell a gorgeous rose and took a picture.
Mind you, he never denied my lawn had huge problems and issues to solve. He looked over the yard somewhat puzzled for the answer that would fix the yard. Then as we looked at the barren ground beneath our feet, he said the most remarkable thing... "I see hope." There it was... defying the odds and struggling to survive... tiny sprigs of green grass.
Hope
As our eyes adjusted we began to see more signs of life.. not a lot of it, but we did have something to work with now. It was possible now that if we worked together we could "heal" my yard.
After my hippie guy left, I felt so encouraged and hopeful. It was as if... and I know this sounds crazy, that Jesus had visited my yard....minus the few curse words he let slip.... he had the heart and eyes of Jesus. He looked at everything through restorative eyes...not as they were but as the could be and should be. He had kingdom eyes and a kingdom heart.
In these hard troubling days, ....days filled with fear, horror, trauma and isolation, it is hard to see hope. However, maybe it is there right in front of us and we just need to let our eyes and hearts adjust so that we can see it? We need kingdom eyes.
We need more people like "hippie guy", that see hope, pursue restoration and actually take the time to stop and smell the roses. Experience beauty, see beauty and expect beauty.
I believe this is the Jesus way... restorative, peaceful, hopeful.... a beauty that will save the world.
See Hope.
Blessings
